First solid-state battery prototypes now being tested by car manufacturers

QuantumScape is one of the most promising battery manufacturers that aims to bring scalable and efficient solid-state battery production to the EV market. The firm started the development of solid-state batteries back in 2010 and now it announced that it's shipping its first 24-layer lithium-metal prototype to EV OEMs.

Now, that doesn't mean we will get a market-ready solid-state solution in the next couple of years. Quite the opposite, actually. Even QuantumScape points out that it still has a lot of work. In the coming years, the manufacturer will focus on "improving quality, consistency, and throughput of its production processes, and additional enhancements on the product side, such as increased cathode capacity loading and improved packaging efficiency."

The 24-layer solid-state battery has a multi-amp-hour range and car OEMs can begin their internal testing and help QuantumSpace reach their goal. Volkswagen is one of those carmakers.

QuantumSpace's older 10-layer battery with ceramic separator was able to retain 80% of its initial energy after 400 consecutive 15-minute fast-charge cycles going from 10% to 80%, which is pretty solid (no pun intended) for such an early prototype. The new 24-layer tech will probably bear many improvements.

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